Egyptian Novelist and Publisher Mekkawi Said has passed on

His first book was a collection of short stories, Running after Light, was published in 1981. Since then, he has published several more collections and novels, including his bestselling Cairo Swan Song, which was shortlisted for the inaugural International Prize for Arabic Fiction and translated to English by Adam Talib. His most recent novel was To Be Loved by Jihan, which made the 2016-17 Sheikh Zayed Book Award longlist.

Said won a number of prizes, including the Egyptian State Prize for Literature, the Sawiris, and the Soad El-Sabbah Prize for Arabic fiction.